Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Oris · Big Crown
Oris Big Crown 36 mm Mother-of-pearl Ceramic
Reference 69051OR.55
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Oris
- Collection
- Big Crown
- Model
- Oris Big Crown 36 mm Mother-of-pearl Ceramic
- Reference number
- 69051OR.55
- Year / era
- 1970 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- Automatic, Swiss lever escapement
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- Jubilee bracelet
- Water resistance
- 300 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 36 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Bezel
- Baguette diamond rainbow
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Jubilee bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Triple-folding clasp with safety catch
- Water resistance
- 300 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 77D — Automatic, Swiss lever escapement
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 5 days
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- GMT second time zone, date
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1970 – 1976
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Oris Big Crown 36 mm Mother-of-pearl Ceramic sits within Oris's Big Crown line, introduced in 1970. It carries the house codes established since 1904 — ceramic case, mother-of-pearl dial and automatic, swiss lever escapement — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
The House
Oris
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1904
- Founder
- Paul Cattin & Georges Christian
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Premium
- Major collections
- Aquis, Big Crown, Divers Sixty-Five, ProPilot, Artelier
- Signature technologies
- Anti-magnetic silicon escapement · Composite and ceramic case materials · Hand-applied guilloché dials
- Famous movements
- Automatic, Swiss lever escapement · High-beat automatic · Automatic chronograph · Spring Drive
- Notable watches
- Oris Aquis 40 mm Mother-of-pearl Ceramic (1986) · Oris Aquis 38 mm Skeletonised Ceramic (1956) · Oris Aquis 39 mm Blue 18k (1951) · Oris Aquis 43 mm Skeletonised 18k (1985)
Brand history
Oris has spent more than 122 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Aquis, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Paul Cattin & Georges Christian established Oris in 1904, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Oris calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1904
Paul Cattin & Georges Christian founds Oris in Switzerland.
1969
The quartz era forces Oris to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Oris enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Oris continues to produce Aquis, Big Crown, Divers Sixty-Five and other icons in limited numbers.